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I first heard we would be doing capoeira during the Wellness media camp hosted by Bayer Schering, I was seriously worried because one, I can't dance to save my life, and two, doing self-defense while dancing looks too tough to me. But there was no turning back when I put on my capoeira pants and eventually found myself in line for drills.

Luckily, the ladies from Escola Brasiliera de Capoeira (EBC) Philippines took it easy on us, and they made learning the basic rules really fun. But first, what is capoeira, really?

Capoeira is a Brazilian blend of dance, martial art, and game, and was developed by imported Africans who cloaked the guise of learning self-defense with an innocent-looking dance. As a mixed method, it conditions the body as it does wonders for the mind, strength, rhythm, poetry, agility, and harmony, making it an excellent form of exercise as well. In the Philippines, the Brazilian School of Capoeira is headed by Alessandro De Azevedo Soares Coqueiro, or simply Professor Fantasma, who hails from Brazil.

To start off, our instructors, whom we called by their Brazilian names Macaca, Xaropinha, and Fofinha taught us the ginga, the basic move in capoeira, or literally "rocking back and forth" by standing with both feet a shoulder-width apart, then moving one foot backwards then back to the base, forming a triangular step while swinging the arms sidewards. As the fundamental movement in capoeira, ginga is also the springboard for other movements.

It looked easy so far, until we were taught au, or cartwheeling, which I was admittedly scared to do. Thankfully, Macaca made it easy for me by teaching us to press our palms flat on the floor after bending, then swinging the waist and legs up, and landing sideways. Trivia: This move can also be used to perform a kicking maneuver!

 

'It looked easy so far, until we were taught au, or cartwheeling, which I was admittedly scared to do'

Another interesting thing about capoeira is that their method of defense is mostly just dodging, unlike other martial arts which use different kinds of blocking. Sounds pretty safe to me, and I like it!

Of course, we couldn't really do fights yet, but the capoeiristas treated us to a peek of the real game. We formed a circle, called the roda, where the capoeiristas took turns sparring in the center while we clapped and sang along to the catchy samba de roda music. It looked so fascinating up close, I couldn't help but think of seriously pursuing the martial art--if I had time, that is! But really, if you want to keep fit while learning dance and martial arts, capoeira would surely do you good.

Interested in capoeira? You can check out EBC's programs and schedules at their official website, www.ebcphilippines.com.